Scratchbuilt 1/32 Northrop JB-1 Flying Bomb
by James Merrigan

Introduction
The aircraft is the Northrop JB-1 flying bomb. I attended Northrop Aeronautical Institute in 1952. The Northrop company was located on what is now Hawthorne Airport. The school was part of the factory complex and shared the flightline with the company. the school ran two programs ,onefor A&Es, and one in Aeronautical Engineering The JB-1 was donated to the school for training purposes, Many alunch break I had sitting on its wing.

Aircraft
The JB-1 was to be Americas answer to the V1.It was to be a jet powered ground launched cruise missle with a range of 200 miles. One JB-1 was built as a manned glider to test the aerodynamics of the craft. This is the aircraft the Institute had. Back in 1952 the plane had a black fuselage with orange wings and tail. Today the JB-1is painted in the all white scheme as seen on the model. It now rside in the Western Museum of Flight at Hawthorne Airport CA.

Construction
The model was made from bits and pieces from the parts box. The fuselage was fabricated from two wing tanks glued together side by side and then covering the joint with .010 sheet plastic. The canopy is part of a blister pack, the rear cockpit fairing was cut from a fuel tankThe two bomb pods were made from fuel tanks . the wings are from a C-47and the tail issheet plastic.

© James Merrigan 2007